Dehradun (PTI): At least 14 people were killed and nine injured when a bus in which they were travelling fell into a gorge in Uttarakhand's Pauri district on Friday. The bus was going to Satpuli area from Sankhnikhet in the district when the mishap occurred at Datpul, officials said. The injured were shifted to the nearby Kotdwar hospital where the condition of two of them is stated to be serious.

The exact cause of the accident was not known. Chief Minister B C Khanduri has expressed grief over the accident and ordered a magisterial inquiry. He has also directed the district administration to give an ex-gratia of Rs 50,000 to the next of kin of the deceased, Rs 25,000 to those critically injured and Rs 5,000 to those with minor injuries.

This is the second such incident within a week. Last week, 13 people were killed in a road accident in Nainital district. According to official statistics, 246 people have so far died and 497 injured this year in road accidents in the hill state.